In October 2010, Reynolds was promoted by Labour's new leader, Ed Miliband, to the opposition frontbench, as a shadow junior Foreign Office Minister under the then Shadow Foreign Secretary, Yvette Cooper.[10] After the resignation of the Shadow Chancellor Alan Johnson and resulting mini-reshuffle of posts, Reynolds continued working in her post under the new Shadow Foreign Secretary, Douglas Alexander.[11] In October 2011, Emma Reynolds was promoted by Labour leader, Ed Miliband, to the position of Shadow Europe Minister. In October 2013, Reynolds was promoted by Ed Miliband to the position of Shadow Housing Minister, replacing Jack Dromey.

Reynolds is former Treasurer of the All-Party Parliamentary China Group[12] and Vice Chair for the All-Party Parliamentary Group for British Sikhs,[13] as well as Secretary of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Human Trafficking.

Emma Reynolds at Central Hall, Westminster November 2015

Reynolds resigned as Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government following the election of Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the Labour Party.[14]

In a 1 October 2012 interview with the Total Politics website, Reynolds called for the eurozone countries to integrate more closely. She also said she had differing opinions with Jon Cruddas, Labour's policy review chief, on whether having a referendum on the EU was a priority.[16]